On the twenty-first of August, I completely ignored the much-heralded solar eclipse. Ordinarily, I would have at least glanced outside at the scheduled time, but in the wee hours of the morning, my dear friend Milton Gardner, Sr., had passed away. I was called shortly thereafter, and his death consumed my thoughts from then on. And I am still thinking about him… what an extraordinary man he was and how very blessed I was to have known him.
The cliché about not knowing what you have till it’s gone, is appropriate here. This weakness is the human penchant, and I suppose it’s almost unavoidable in the confusion and speed of modern living. We simply don’t have the time to contemplate the many good things God has given us. Much was said at the funeral about Milton’s one-of-a-kind personality, and it is true that I greatly valued, when he was alive, this wonderful person and his myriad acts of kindness to me personally. But now that this chapter of my life has been closed so irrevocably, I can only feel the desolation that is part of the human condition. I know it is so much worse for his family and especially for his most faithful, beautiful wife of 69 years, Joyce.
Milton passed away peacefully at the relatively advanced age of 94. But because I came to know him when he was in his late eighties and close to the end, I feel cheated. His mind was still sharp, and whereas his days as a trial lawyer were over, he still did occasional legal services for friends up until the last couple of years. Fortunately for me, his ability as a raconteur was still strong and uncontested. And the stories he had to tell could rival the plot of any Hollywood movie–literally! In fact, there are two movies that come to mind readily, movies to which he had an interesting connection. Milton Gardner personally knew the attorneys detailed in the book and later portrayed in the movie Paris Trout. His own law office was merely a few yards away from the site of the murders back in 1953. In fact, had he not been out of town at the time, he could easily have been one of the victims that day when Marion Stembridge went on his killing spree, targeting lawyers. Milton pointed out to me the way it really was back then and, of course, the inaccuracies in the movie–the liberties that Hollywood had taken.
And then, in the near past, there is the movie Bridge of Spies, starring Tom Hanks–the Cold War thriller chronicling the down-to-earth attorney who was given the unenviable task of defending the Russian spy (portrayed by Mark Rylance, who won a “Best Supporting Actor” award in the role), and eventually freeing him from the death penalty. Rylance’s counterpart in real life was Francis Gary Powers, the American pilot who was shot down in Russia and accused of espionage. Powers was eventually released and returned to the States, but because of his captivity in the Soviet Union, remained a VIP all of his life. He had married a woman from Milledgeville, and when their marriage didn’t work out and a divorce was inevitable, great care had to be taken to select the best lawyer in town to represent the famous pilot. The powerful Congressman Carl Vinson recommended Milton Gardner, and thus it came to be that Powers was Milton’s client. Coincidentally, that same trait of humility portrayed by the protagonist in Bridge of Spies characterized my friend. There would have been no shortage of drama for a Hollywood producer to work with if he wanted to depict the life of Milton Frederick Gardner, Sr. From his humble beginning in rural Putnam County, Georgia, to his valiant service in the Navy during WWII (early, he was given a metal for bravery when he jumped into the icy waters of Boston Harbor to save a sailor who was drowning–he went on to serve admirably in the Pacific), to his successful land-development/real estate partnership with I.M.”Sonny” Goldstein, to his public service as State Court Judge, to his brilliant career as an attorney handling a variety of cases, Milton Gardner never gave in to the temptations of egotism and pomposity. He lived very simply and modestly and never took himself so seriously that he couldn’t laugh at his own foibles.
He was known for his wisdom, and over the years, innumerable people sought and obtained from him free advice (among other things). Like every wise man, he knew that his most valuable “possessions” were the blessed family and friends God had given him. In this ever-so-materialistic age, where people strive sometimes to the death for things, Milton Gardner took more pleasure in interacting with people than anybody I know. He seemed to be so happy, infirmities notwithstanding, when he was recounting old stories and telling jokes (he never failed to make me giggle). His good humor always cheered me up, even if I were having a very bad day. No, he was not perfect. The Bible tells us emphatically that no mere mortal is. However, this friendly, kind soul, who, along with his family, extended to me such cordiality and love, was close enough to perfection for me. Milton, you are sorely missed.
